The More Things Change
by The Crane
Summary: A few new ponies have appeared. But, for what reason?
1. Chapter 1

Most characters owned by Hasbro.

==-==-== Crystal Warriors

The More Things Change...

Part One

The_krane ==-==-==

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is wake up. There are many of us who often don't want to face the world in the morning. We have difficulties with what is expected of us. Some of us are just plain lazy. And some of us are tired of the BS from our jobs.

I for one wake up everyday with "I don't wanna..."

Others can't face reality. There may be a traumatic situation in play that plagues the person's soul. Waking up means living with that trauma in difficult ways. It may be the loss of a loved one or it may be the loss of a loved limb.

Still others live without such an ability. There are those that are comatose and sleep for painfully long times. Loved ones gather around and wait for the day that the poor soul awakens from such a dreadful time.

And then there is this one...

==-==-== "What... happened?" The female voice gargles out a few words as her eyes flutter open.

"Oh!" a female voice replies. This one sounds sweet and concerned. "You're awake!"

"Where am I? I can't see..."

"You're in the hospital. I'll run get the doctor." There is a sound of hustle as the owner of the voice runs out.

The poor awakened soul can only look up from her position. She cannot see the ceiling itself, only a dark fog. She doesn't imagine what it may look like. She doesn't really care. She quietly stretches her limbs. Her legs. Her arms. She cracks her neck around. But, something doesn't feel quite right. She raises herself up by pushing her arms down, but can't feel her fingers at the ends. From what she can determine, her arms are bandaged up to her elbows. In addition, her hands are completely balled up and bandaged.

"Well, hello!" a new, male voice announces. "I see that you're awake. My nurse says that you can't see, though."

"Yeah. My eyesight's all twisted, dark and blurry."

"I see. What else can you tell me? Can you hear me all right?"

"Yeah. I can hear you. I don't know how I got here. I don't even know where I am. And what happened here?!" she growls as she raises her arms.

"Now, now... Don't get out of shape." He takes the arms and gently pushes them down. "They were badly injured. We'll take care of you until you're healed and you get your eyesight back."

There is a dull light that shines in her eyes. She sees it like the Moon behind a thick cloud bank. As it floats to either side of her field of vision, her eyeballs instinctively track it. "Yeah. Okay. Will it come back?"

"We'll do some tests. It could very well be temporary. Can you tell me your name?"

"My name's Bobbi. Some people call me Celestia."

"I wouldn't." There is a distinct sharpness to that comment. "And, for your sake, I hope you never use that name again."

"I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't worry!" he says with a newly chipper voice. "Delirium and delusions might be related to your eye problems!"

"Right. I won't use that name, then."

"Is there anyone I can get for you? Friends? Family?"

"I don't know if my friends are near."

"Well, then, I'll return later. I'll have the nurse make you comfortable."

"Thank you."

==-==-== When night came, she found herself unable to sleep. Too much had happened. Her loss of sight. Her injuries. Her 'delirium.' She doesn't remember how she got here, wherever 'here' is. She's been to a few strange places before, so a strange world won't be a shock to her.

She flops over to her other side. While she's been worried about her own situation, there are a few others that she starts to worry about. "Girls... I hope you're all okay."

While she attempts to sleep, she finds the hospital pretty quiet. While she believes a PA system is in place, she hasn't heard anything over it. She has the occasional nurse check on her, but mostly is left in peace.

Of all that's happened in recent times, she hopes that this turns out to be a lesser evil. Whatever adventure she's thrown into this time, she's determined to land on her feet.

==-==-== Daylight comes for the lost Warrior. She looks about with a certain glee as her vision has returned. She can see the window and the sunlight it offers. She can see drab curtains hanging from either side. She can see a hospital room as she scans from one side to the other.

She looks down at herself and raises up her arms. She raises an eyebrow as she looks at her skin color with peculiarity. Instead of a normal fleshtone, she finds it a muted gold. "What the-?" As expected, the ends of her arms are bandaged to keep her fingers from stretching. A green hospital gown covers her as normal.

"Oh!" a nurse's voice gasps. "You're awake!" But, before she can be seen, the nurse disappears again back into the hallway.

She quickly yanks the blanket off of her and jumps to the floor. While she stays standing for a moment, she eventually drops to put her her hands on the floor as well. "What's... wrong with me?!"

She looks back at her body and finds the most horrific revelation yet: Her body isn't what it used to be, but rather changed into a four-legged beast. In fact, her new frame greatly resembles an equestrian type. While she's looking back, she clearly sees a unique mark on her flank-a four point star with a smaller circle as a background. A lighter blonde tail hangs off her rump.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What's wrong?!" a voice calls out.

"I'm a friggin' pony!"

"Um... yeah..." She finally looks at the owner of the voice and sees that her doctor is yet another horse with a white labcoat and stethoscope around his neck. His nurse seems to be female, yet not much different. "What were you expecting?"

Bobbi dashes into the bathroom and finds a mirror adorned to the wall. She looks at herself for the first time since awakening in this weird place. Her overall coat is gold while her mane is a lighter blonde. She looks at her blue eyes closely, but her attention turns towards an equally golden horn sticking out of her forehead.

She slowly walks out into the main room again with a confused expression on her face. "What happened to me?"

"You were found unconscious outside of town. It looked like you crash landed there, from the looks of the area. Where are you from?"

"Not from here," Bobbi notes with a nervous giggle."

Bobbi walks over to the window and looks out with a certain curiosity. The immediate area has trees surrounding the building, but there is a town not far from there. She looks at the architecture that she can see and notes a certain familiarity. She assumes that everyone that lives there runs on four legs.

"That out there is Ponyville," the doctor remarks. "You'll find plenty of friends there."

She turns towards him with something of a smile. "I only need four."

-End One 


	2. Chapter 2

Most characters owned by Hasbro.

==-==-== Crystal Warriors

The More Things Change...

Part Two

The_krane ==-==-==

And so begins a new mystery in Equestria. A new unicorn named Bobbi has appeared. She doesn't know how she got here, where here is, or why she has been transformed so. Even worse, she doesn't know WHY she has been sent here.

"The doctor told me to go to the Library here. Someone could help me there. Now, if I can just figure out which building IS the Library..."

Yet, she walks with a bit of a troubled expression on her face. All around her she can feel others staring at her. She can hear them talking and murmuring, which is slowly sinking into her mind as normal. Talking ponies seems awfully foreign to her. And she continues to feel as though she's the subject of conversation.

She looks at herself and inspects her body. While she is a pony herself, she wouldn't stop staring either at such a strange spectacle. But they themselves aren't any different. "Why is everyone staring at me? Do they point at strangers all the time?"

But it eventually dons on her. She continues to wear the hospital gown from her visit. Taking it off for her would be akin to running around naked. Something that also isn't all that strange here. And yet, she has nothing else to wear instead.

"Or do I?" she thinks aloud with a little smile. A ring at the base of her horn glows for a moment as light wraps around her body. The drab green gown vanishes while a golden garment wraps around her body and becomes like a cape flowing off her back. "That'll do," she grins a little.

"I wonder how my friends are doing? I wonder if my friends are even here? Not the first time I've gone off on my own. Unintentionally. At least I have all my limbs this time." She stops and looks at her front hooves for a moment. "Eh. Good enough."

==-==-== Elsewhere...

A yellow pony with pink mane and tail walks through town while humming to herself. There's a basket on either side of her which she occassionally drops things into. Most of the contents of these are fruit and vegetables. She has butterflies imprinted on her rear flanks and a graceful step as she moves.

There are several food stalls lining the area. She looks from one to another in search of what she needs. As she does, she drops a few bits as payment.

"Excuse me?" a young feminine voice asks.

Fluttershy turns around towards the voice with an everpresent smile on her face. "Yes?" she asks. As she turns, her wings flutter up from her sides. But, her green eyes spy nopony. She looks around the street and finds only other shoppers. With a light shrug, she continues on her errands.

"Pardon me!" the voice asks louder.

Again, Fluttershy looks behind her but with a little fear in her eyes. "Y-Yes?" Again, she finds no owner to the voice that keeps beckoning her. "Hello?"

"I need your help!"

While she can hear the voice, she can see nothing ahead of her. "I-I can't see you..." she mumurs out. "Wh-Who are you? You're not..." She swallows and starts to shrink her stance a little. "a... a..."

"A what?!"

"Ghostpony?" she squeeks out.

"Yeah. Maybe."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screeches, her wings standing on end. She starts running away full of fright. "GHOSTPONY!" she hollers as she gallops away.

"HEY! WAIT!"

The frightened Fluttershy dives into an empty barrel and puts the lid on from the inside. The whole barrel shakes and shivers with an unending rhythm. A nearby vendor turns towards his barrel with a bemused shake of his head.

As the wooden cask shutters and shakes, there comes a tapping. The sound is rather short but effective.

"N-n-no p-pony home!" she calls from inside.

"I'm not a ghost, okay?! I'm invisible!"

"G-g-ghosts ARE invisible!" Her security compromised, she kicks out one end of the barrel and takes off running again. "Leave me alone!"

"WAIT!" the voice says as she quickly follows. "I NEED HELP!"

"Stop haunting me!" she says with a tearfully terrified voice.

A certain golden wrapped pony walks by and witnesses Fluttershy gallop for her life. "Crazy comes in all forms, I guess."

"FLUTTERSHY!" another voice shouts. A particularly purple pony with a horn and wings drops ahead of her screaming friend and stops her. "What's going on?"

"Twilight!" she shouts in a horrified tone. "I'm being haunted by a ghost! She just keeps chasing me around!"

"Fluttershy, there are many strange things in this world. But, ghosts?"

"Sh-she kept asking for my help!"

"I AM NOT A GHOST!"

For a moment, both of them look for a body to go with the voice. But, none seems to be near enough. Both of them have started to have fearful expressions as their unseen chaser starts to speak again. "Th-There's no such thing as... ghosts."

"Well what do you call that?!" Fluttershy shouts while pointing a hoof.

"There are all kinds of magic," she says as she calms herself. "Invisibility is not as difficult as you think." She look down and finds a puddle of mud left over from a recent rainstorm. With a wry eye, she kicks some of it up and towards the voice. As she expected, it splatters all over another pony form. A head, body, front legs, and wings can be vaguely seen due to the dirt. "See? Invisible."

"About time someone took me seriously," she comments. She instinctively shakes off the dirt, returning her to unseen.

"Who are you?" Twilight asks while gently comforting her terrified friend. "And what happened to you?"

"Some people call me Tel. My name is Kat. I woke up in this weird place completely invisible. I don't know where I am. Or why I'm running on four legs. Or WHY I'm here in the first place."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. My friend here is Fluttershy. We-I'd be happy to help you. Why don't we go back to my place to talk?"

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," Kat says quietly. "I didn't want to scare you, but I didn't know what else to do!"

Twilight looks at her petrified friend for a moment. "Why don't you run along? If Kat scares you that much, I'll take care of her."

"N-no..." she replies. "I'll be okay... I'd like to help her, too."

Twilight smiles a little at her bravery. "Alrighty then. Let's see what we can do for you. Where are you from?"

"Not here," she quips.

-End Two 


	3. Chapter 3

Most characters owned by Hasbro.

==-==-== Crystal Warriors

The More Things Change...

Part Three

The_krane ==-==-==

A few newcomers have landed in and around the cheerful town of Ponyville. While the citizens naturally walk as various types of horses, others aren't in complete understanding yet. Those that come in from the outside aren't as knowledgable.

And then there's this one. A sad pony walks along the streets with her head hung down. Her tail slides along the ground as lifeless as she feels. Her mane is a dark brown while her coat is a much lighter sandy color. On her rear flank is a mark resembling stones. Her feet don't so much as step, but slide with a slight lift.

She pays no mind to the others that watch her. If she were more observant, she would notice that everyone else in the village is smiling and happy while she walks like a zombie. But, instead of trying to help, they keep their distance and talk amongst themselves.

"Why won't it work?" She walks behind one of the buildings and secludes herself in the shadows. For a moment, she makes sure she is not seen. Her brown eyes look to the path from whence she came. She then looks forward to where she may go.

While she is believing that it is clear, she manages to stand up on two legs as opposed to four. Her body in general changes from pony into a human. Her legs support her weight normally. Her arms soon gain hands and fingers. Her head and neck shrink considerably and her hair changes position. Her tail shrivels into her backside. Her mark disappears from either hip.

"It worked?" she says with an amused smile. "I can't-" But, as quickly as she was relishing in her victory, her body quickly changed back into her former appearance. Her front legs stamped down on the ground as her Equestrian completes itself.

She looks forward with a groan rattling through her teeth. She doesn't say anything, but continues on her previous journey. Her attempt to return to human form has failed.

"What else could go wrong?" she mumbles to herself. She turns around again to come face to face with terror itself.

A pink wonder shouts "HIYA!" in a very high pitched voice.

"AAAAAHHHH!" She quickly backpeddles and trips over herself. "DO YOU MIND?!"

The face of terror has a pink coat and pinker cotton candyish mane. Her blue eyes sparkle with hope and her her smile shines with cheer. "You were so doomy and gloomy that I HAD to find a way to cheer you up!"

"Mind your own business," she replies while getting to her hooves.

"This IS my business!" she replies with utmost glee. "I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?!"

"Leaving," she replies. She spins about on her hooves and starts a rapid walk away.

But, the ever-smiling pony refuses to part ways. "Well, Leaving," she greets. "Is there anything I can help you with? I'm good at helping. I can get you cupcakes. I can get you apples. I can build you a shed. Find you a chariot? Hooficure? Donut? Lunch? Beverage? Cider?"

'Leaving' stops in her tracks as she finds herself buried up to her eyeballs in everything she just offered. Including a small shed and chariot. A pastel colored pony climbs out of the collection with a strange expression on her face. "Really?" 'Leaving' moans. She manages to climb over the piles of offerings and looks at Pinkie Pie with a certain resentment. "Do you know what I want?"

"OOHH! OOHH! Tellmetellmetellme!"

"I need something very important."

"Yess?"

"Something that is REEAAALLLYYY hard to find."

"Whatwhatwhat?!"

'Leaving' waves a hoof in front of her and beckons the pink wonder to lean in closer. She leans closer garnering her undivided interest. "The thing I need most is..." She pauses for a moment as her pursuer vibrates in anticipation "TTTHHHEERRRRAAAAAPPPPYYYY! I am surrounding by freaky talking horses! I have COMPLETELY lost my mind!"

"I lost mine a long time ago!" she says cheerily. "I don't miss it. It sends me postcards!"

'Leaving' rolls her eyes a little. "You don't take 'no' for an answer, do you?"

"Aw, c'mon! Life's too short to be so down! You gotta be smiling and happy! It helps your blood pressure! Happiness is the secret to a long life! So, where are you from?"

"Not here," she mutters.

Pinkie's eyes suddenly widen while her lips go 'aha!' "I know! How about a song!"

However, 'leaving' isn't on board with such a thing as her eyes widen with terror. "Goodlordgetmeoutofhere!" she mutters before running off. While she's spent a good deal of her time here walking and shuffling, she runs with all her might to escape.

"You can't escape me!" Pinkie yells with a giggle. As 'Leaving' is running, Pinkie spronks down the street, bouncing on all four of her legs like a springboard. Despite 'Leaving's running, Pinkie is easily able to keep up with her.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She slides to a stop as she almost collides with some older folk. "Sorry..." she gasps.

An older donkey looks up at 'Leaving's gleeful pursuer and shakes his head. "Kid, it's best you just give up. Because she won't. She's not as bad as you think."

"Yes," his female companion adds. "She just may be able to help."

"Leeee-viiiinnnggg!" Pinkie giggles.

"Yes! I am!" she shouts as she gallops off again.

"Hi Cranky! Hi Matilda!" Pinkie greets as she bounces past. As she spronks past she yells "nice weather for a picnic, wouldn't you say?"

'Leaving' stops in her tracks as the smiling pink terror closes in. "Maybe..." she mutters. "I can do..." She raises her rear legs and hooves above the ground as far as her posture will allow. "THIS!" she shouts as she stomps her hooves into the ground with a horrendously loud BOOOMMMM!

"Uhoh" Pinkie bubbles out. At her last landing, the ground below her quickly heaves up in a powerful tremor. A spire of rock juts out quickly from below and launches Pinkie Pie into the air in the opposite direction. "WWWWHHHHEEEEEE!" she screams in joy.

'Leaving' takes no time in making her escape. She quickly gallops off into the distance while her pursuer is otherwise entertained.

Pinkie herself finally comes down to the ground and lands hard on a cart full of green balls. In an instant, she completely destroys the whole thing. As she lay on the ground, her eyes spin in all sorts of directions. "Wanna go again, mama..." she babbles to herself.

"MY CABBAGES!" an older pony shouts. He has a yellow coat, gray mane, and a sprig of hair from his chin. He wears a green hat around his scalp and a similarly green vest. "WHYYY?!"

-End Three 


	4. Chapter 4

Most characters owned by Hasbro.

==-==-== Crystal Warriors

The More Things Change...

Part Four

The_krane ==-==-==

In a world filled with Equestrians, a few strangers have appeared. Hailing from elsewhere, they have been found in different places by different residents. Already strange by their own standards, they exhibit unique abilities. Or a curse in one such case. One is invisible while another can cause quakes with her hooves.

What others will appear? And why?

==-==-== "Ugh..." a female voice moans. "What happened...?" As she flutters open her eyes, the world viewed through them is blurred and overly bright. As she awakens, she quickly regrets it. As she comes to, she immediately wants to return to the darkness.

"You okay?" a young voice asks.

She turns her view towards the voice and sees a white form looking down on her curiously. "SUNDAE!" she shouts as she quickly jolts up and wraps her arms around the smaller one to give her a warm hug. "Oooooohhhhh... I've missed you..." She uses a hoof to stroke her hair but her overwhelming conscious thought denies that anything is amiss.

"RARITY!" 'Sundae' screams. "HEELLLPP!"

A more mature pony quickly dashes into the room. She's got a grayish almost white coat with blue eyes and an equally white horn. Her mane is a deep violet that is elaboartely styled. There is a very fine elegance about her, topped with three gems marked on her rear flanks. In addition, a measuring tape hangs around her neck and red rimmed glasses sit on the end of her muzzle. "Sweetie Belle?" she asks hurriedly. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" the younger one replies. She has the same grayish/white coat that the older one has as well as a similarly coifed mane, yet with lighter hues and a shorter horn peeking out. When the young one is not wincing from her hold, light green eyes plead for help. Unlike most around here, she has no special markings. "Sister!"

For a long moment, Rarity looks at the situation with a bit of amusement. She watches as their guest has her younger sister in an inescapable embrace. She herself has a blue coat with a short black mane and lighter blue waves as her marks. Like the other two in the room, she also has a blue horn coming out of her forehead.

"Alright..." Rarity sighs. In her normal tones, she definitely has a sophisticated accent. "That's enough." A light blue aura surrounds Sweetie Belle that helps her to escape the stranger's clutches. As soon as she is freed from that, she quickly runs off. She slides after a moment and drifts behind Rarity. While still curious, she pokes her head around her sister. "I see you're awake. Are you alright?" While she waits for an answer, the same light blue glow surrounds her glasses and tape and removes them.

The blue pony shakes her head to either side for a moment. "More or less," she replies while looking at her front hooves. She looks over to her caretakers and realizes they are no different than her at the moment. "Where am I?" She mentally tells herself not to make a scene about becoming a horse of some type.

"This is Carousel Boutique. I live on the second floor. I'm Rarity, and this is my sister, Sweetie Belle. What's your name, Darling?"

"Amanda," she replies quietly. "Sometimes En-Ja. Sometimes... not such nice names."

"She's weird..." Sweetie Belle remarks.

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity huffs. "Where are your manners?"

"No, it's alright." She uses a hoof to examine the horn on her head for a moment. "I am kinda weird I guess." Amanda cranes her head to the side and looks at Sweetie Belle with her own blue eyes. "I'm sorry. You remind me of my daughter. Her name's Sundae. She'd be about your age."

"Daughter?" Rarity wonders with a dash of alarm. "Was she with you?"

"No, no. I haven't seen her in a long time. It's a little complicated. Don't worry about her."

"Alright..." Rarity says quietly. "Well, Amanda, I will let you stay here while you get yourself sorted out. If there's anything I can help with, just let me know." She turns about and nudges her little sister. "Come along, Sweetie Belle. Let's leave her alone for a bit."

==-==-== Some time later, Amanda had found her way downstairs and into Rarity's workshop. When she entered, she found the place a disaster. It was a complete antithesis to her clean and pleasant shop. Yet, Rarity was quick to point out that it's 'organized chaos.'

"Ohh!" Rarity says happily. Once again, her glasses fit snug on her face. "So you ADOPTED Sundae. Now I understand. You looked rather young to be a mother."

"Yeah," Amanda continues with a smile. While Rarity wanders around her workshop, Amanda sits on a nearby sofa. "She was in a very bad spot when we met. She was an orphan and couldn't get home. We took care of her for awhile, and then formally adopted her when nobody came looking."

Rarity continues and uses her horn's magic fluently to float materials throughout the room. "She must have family somewhere! Right?" One dress she works on has a few different pieces that come together. She raises a hoof to her chin as she debates its appearance.

Amanda watches the spectacle, and notes that this might be everyday for her newfound friend. Part of her wonders if her own horn might be of similar use. "She doesn't know which plan-land she's from. We wouldn't know the first place to look for her family."

"How did she get here?"

"Oh, uh through magic, I guess you could say. She was launched from one place to another and couldn't retrace her steps. She needed a place to stay, and the rest is history."

Sweetie Belle trots into the room and immediately spies Amanda looking at her. Her face gains a nervous twitch and she quickly gallops over to her sister's side. Amanda retains a motherly smile as she watches. Despite knowing the truth, Amanda still retains some strange connection to the little one.

"This is a nice place you got here," Amanda remarks. "Carousel Boutique? But no actual carousel?"

"Well," Rarity replies a little heavily. "I had originally imagined a carousel in the store. I could use the ponnequins to model some of my latest designs. Alas, that is one of my ideas that has never come to fruition. I put the idea on the back burner where it has collected dust ever since."

"You could still do it," Amanda replies.

"I could," she sighs. "I really could. But, in the meantime, my store has developed its own je ne sais quoi. I think adding it at this point would tarnish its image. It would be an insult to its history." She finishes her current idea and turns her head towards Amanda. A few gemstones float through the air between them. "Darling, might I asks where you're from? I don't believe I've seen you around here before."

"Not here," Amanda notes. "I just have to find my yellow brick road home."

There is a sudden clatter as everything that Rarity was holding up with her magic suddenly falls to the floor. A spindle of thread rolls across the floor to Amanda's hoof. She looks down at it curiously and then back to her host. The elegant pony suddenly turns a slightly lighter shade. She turns nervously towards Amanda "Wh-what makes you say that...?"

"Something I saw one day. Are you alright?"

Rarity suddenly turns a shade of desperate. "I wasn't in my right mind, OKAY?!"

Amanda backs up a little on the furniture as something irritates Rarity. "Okay..." Amanda says quietly. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Sis..." Sweetie Belle nudges. "Relax. It's okay."

"Yes, yes, of course..." Rarity mumbles out. "I'm sorry. It was a bad day for me."

"Don't worry," Amanda says. "As soon as I find my friends, I'll get out of your mane."

-End Four 


	5. Chapter 5

Most characters owned by Hasbro.

==-==-== Crystal Warriors

The More Things Change...

Part Four

The_krane ==-==-==

For the most part, this land is rather peaceful and serene. The citizens are more kind and caring than people from our own world can be. Perhaps the lack of most technology that humans have has contributed to the positive atmosphere of this place.

That is not to say that there isn't the occassional hoodlum that tries to cause an uproar. One pony named Trixie on two visits tried to assert her authority. Both times she was shot down. One of the princesses ran wild before having to be dealt with. The shapeshifting queen wasn't all that fun, either. Or a resurrected tyrant from days of long ago eager to rebuild his empire of darkness.

And then there's Discord. And that's all we're saying on that one. A Q-uandary that one is.

But, things still happen to disrupt the peace and reinforce the idea that things are fragile. Despite the seemingly immortal positive atmosphere, lessons can still be learned.

While darkness fills the night sky, a bright light in the distance attracts a lot of attention. On the black canvas of sky, a fire burns and lights things up once more. In town, ponies look at the growing blaze with worry and awe. A great many start galloping towards the source out of concern.

When they reach the great fire in the background, they find a large barn ablaze. The entrance has already been blocked by falling beams, preventing any from entering. An older green pony, a large red horse, and a smaller orange pony look at the destruction with horror. The orange one tries to go in, but is stopped by the red horse.

Screams for help can be heard from within. After each one, the distraught orange pony tries to break free and gallop in. "We can't leave them in there!"

"You'll never make it!" he says in a thunderous voice. The pegasi are coming in with rainclouds!"

"But-"

As all this is playing out, a pony gallops in from the distance. She gallops hard towards the blaze and leaps over the gathered Equestrians. She runs so fast that some only catch a glimpse while others don't see anything at all. Without even stopping, she bounds towards the blaze and leaps through a hole in the burning blockage.

"HEEELLLPPPP!" a very young filly shouts from the back of the barn. "WE'RE TRAPPED!"

The mysterious pony moves quickly towards the voices she heard. She slides to a stop and kicks away some burning debris. She stands before three small ponies and turns her back towards them. "Get on! Hurry!"

While a little confused, the three little ones do as they're told and climb onto her back. She even helps one to get situated. She taps a red earring which glows for a second. As it does, a red cloth wraps around all of them to protect them from further harm. As it appears around them, she looks around the burning barn for a proper escape.

"Hang on tight!" she commands while running off. Her way in would be too small for the group, so she jumps on a crate and then quickly onto a ledge. She bounds off the platform before it collapses. From point to point, she bounces up towards the top.

When she finds the top floor, she gallops hard. The burning floor gives way as she moves. Every hard step sends burning planks to the ground. As she runs, she sees an archway in the distance. Apparently it's a doorway to toss haybales down to the ground. While in its prime, it would be a perfect escape. But, as it burns it becomes smaller as boards already start to block the way.

Without a thought, she jumps out of the door and knocks the debris away with her head to keep her charges from being hit themselves. And for a moment, she floats in the air. Three little ponies on her back grip tighter with muffled screams. They can see what's coming and brace for the worst.

Their savior hits the ground and sends them flying forward into the crowd. At first, they are flung with the red wrap, but are soon released from it. They roll to a stop near each other. They may need a little bit of care, but are fine otherwise. The gathered citizens of the town converge around the children before turning towards their hero.

But, she's already gone. In the few seconds that their attention was diverted, she disappeared into the darkness. The entire group is surprised that she had so quickly left. But, even that thought is washed away as rain from above starts to come down. Several winged ponies had brought clouds over the barn and started to buck them into causing a downpour.

In time, the pegasus-inspired rainstorm puts out the fire. The children were tended to. And many wonder who saved them. And nary a thought as to what caused the fire in the first place.

==-==-== The next day, when the sun is high in the sky, the aftermath starts. Four ponies of differing sizes and ages stare at the deep-fried barn. After the rain put out the fire, it continued to smoke and smolder.

An orange pony with a blonde mane looks up with bewildered green eyes. "Ah guess this means we need a new barn." She wears a cowboy hat, but takes it off momentarily in rememberance.

"Eey-up," another says sorrowfully. The taller red horse isn't usually one for words. It can easily be said that what he lacks in words he makes up for in muscle.

"We j'st put up that b'rn last year." She's a much older member of the family with green coat, white mane and all the aches and pains of a long life of hard work.

The last of the group has the red cloth wrapped around her small body. She has a yellow coat and red mane. She wears a bow on the back of her head that at the right angle looks like cat ears.

"Coulda been worse. We just cleared out all them apples. At least we didn't lose all them."

"Eey-up."

"I'm g'ttin' too old f'r all this," she mutters to herself.

The youngest one turns and walks away from the burnt out husk of a barn. As it stands, she sees nothing left but a few black planks sticking up from the ground. Sooner or later, one of the other three will tell her to go and play anyway.

==-==-== She eventually comes to a nearby river. She often comes here to relax and swim. But, as she enters the area she notices something different. She looks about and finds a red pony resting on her side near the shore. Curious, she looks at the sleeping one and is quick to notice a few black marks around her body.

"It doesn't hurt," she says without opening her eyes.

Although startled for a moment, she looks at the newcomer for a short time. "Ah haven't seen ya around here before. Where ya from?"

"Not here," she answers while continuing to keep her eyes closed. "Kinda tired," she adds. "Had a long night."

"Ah know." She uses her teeth to toss the red cloth across her new friend and it acts as a blanket of sorts. "Ah'm Apple Bloom. What's yer name?"

"Casie."

"Ar' ya hurt?"

"I've had worse," she replies. "Fire doesn't bother me. Neither does cold."

"But ya still feel it, don't ya?"

"Feel it? Yeah. Doesn't hurt, though." Despite her exhaustion, she rolls to her belly and stands up. Her mane is a cinnamon color, short on top. She opens her blue eyes and looks at her little rescuee. She stretches out her front and back legs for a long moment before starting to walk away. As she does, Apple Bloom notices a flame as her mark.

"Where ya goin'?" Apple Bloom asks as she walks with her.

The red cloth around Casie fades away as her red earring glows again. "Thought I'd head into town. I have friends I'd like to find."

-End Five 


End file.
